Israel Highlights 11 Nights (Wednesday Arrival)

Tour Rates & Dates:

*Please note that all rates displayed are based on standard room double occupancy.
All rates above are in US Dollars, and are based on full payment by credit card.
Discount for check payments available later in the booking process.
(Deposit can still be paid by credit card).
Upgraded room categories may be available to book later in the booking process.
If Land & Air price is displayed, the air portion includes tax and fuel surcharges, which are subject to change until ticketed.

The Israel Highlights tour is our classic, cross-cultural tour of Israel. With several itineraries to choose from, these tours offer participants a sense of inspiration - from the Tomb of King David at Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, to the vista of the Bahai Temple Gardens atop Haifa's Mt. Carmel, to Capernaum nestled between the foothills of the Galilee overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Travelers will tour Israel with an outstanding licensed guide, and experience the different cultures that come together in this amazing destination. Israel Highlights tours enable one to see, do, explore, and experience all that this ancient land has to offer. These tours are perfect for travelers who want to learn more about both the ancient and modern history of Israel, as well as increase their understanding of the origins of religious roots - Christian, Jewish, and more.

On-line booking
is available for all our Israel Highlights Tours to Israel.
Explore the possibilities on-line, or call us at 800-237-1517 to
find the right tour for you!

This Highlights Tour Includes:

4 Nights in Tel Aviv2 Nights in the Galilee5 nights in JerusalemFully escorted with a professional guide throughoutView the Roma ruins in CaesareaSee the Bahai Gardens in HaifaExplore the roots of Kabbalah the mystical city of SafedEnjoy a wine tour and tasting at the Golan WineryVisit Capernaum, where Jesus preached, in the GalileeSee Jerusalem, the City of Gold, from atop the Mount of OlivesView the Roman ruins of Beit Alpha & Beit SheanVisit the tomb of King David at Mt. ZionExplore the treasures at the world class Israel MuseumSee the Knesset, Israel's ParliamentTour Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the HolocaustEnjoy the Tower of David Night Spectacular Sound & Light showLearn the stories of King Herod's desert palace at MasadaEnjoy an unsinkable float in the Dead Sea

AND SO MUCH MORE!Rates Include the Following
Services:

Transfer on arrival and departure from/to Ben Gurion Airport
11 nights accommodation with breakfast daily at hotel
1 lunch in Daliat El Carmel, a Druze village2 dinner at Kibbutz Lavi
1 dinner in Jerusalem 8
touring days as per itinerary with English speaking guide
Admission to media attractions as described in the program
Entrance fees to the sites visited as per itinerary*

Note: Standard
rooms are offered throughout. If standard rooms are unavailable at time of
booking at any given property, upgraded rooms, if available, may be offered to
client at an additional charge. Hotels may be substituted with similar hotels in
the same category.

*Itinerary subject to change

Rates
Do Not Include:* Visa fees or border taxes* Tips to driver, guide,
wait staff, porters, housekeepers, etc. (Budget about $15.00 per person per
day)* Meals not listed* Travel Insurance (Highly Recommended; see options at www.ayelet.com)* Any items of personal nature or meals not specifically listed as included

Tour Itinerary:

• Depart the United States on our overnight flight to Israel. (Contact Ayelet Tours for assistance booking flights)

DAY 2, WEDNESDAY - WELCOME TO ISRAEL

• Shalom and welcome to Israel.• Greeting and assistance at Ben Gurion airport by an Ayelet representative.• Transfer to our hotel; remainder of the day is on own at leisure.

Overnight Tel Aviv

DAY 3, THURSDAY - TEL AVIV UP CLOSE

?? Breakfast at our hotel.• Begin our day at Independence Hall, site of the 1948 signing of Israel's Declaration of Independence. • Visit Latrun, Israel's outdoor armed corps museum. Here we explore and touch the tanks and artillery used by the Israeli Defense Force and enemy armies throughout the country's history. • Explore “Mini-Israel”, where we view the famous sites and cities of Israel reproduced in exact to-scale miniature replicas, including biblical, historical, and modern landmarks. • Continue to the Ayalon Institute, an underground ammunition factory that played a pivotal role in Israel's fight for independence at the end of the British Mandate.

Overnight Tel Aviv

DAY 4, FRIDAY - EXPLORING TEL AVIV

• Breakfast at our hotel.• Drive around the main streets of Tel Aviv, Israel's vibrant center of business and entertainment. • Visit the Diaspora Museum, where we learn about the history of Jewish emigration since the destruction of the Second Temple and see models of some of the world's most well known and majestic synagogues. • Stop for a moment of reflection at Rabin Square, place of the assassination of Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin. • Visit one of the oldest ports in the world at Ancient Jaffa, where we walk among the many artists, vendors and cafes as we hear the history of the ancient port. • Continue to Neve Tzedek, the first neighborhood of Tel Aviv, built in 1909, now experiencing a renaissance.• Enjoy the entertainers, artists, shop owners, colorful vendors and craftspeople that bring the streets to life on Nachalat Binyamin and in the adjacent Carmel Market.• Next browse along Sheinkin Street, the lively and colorful street especially known for its unique shops and cafes.

Overnight Tel Aviv

DAY 5, SATURDAY - SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.• Enjoy a day at leisure to explore Tel Aviv on own. This seaside city pulses with energy day and night. Enjoy the world class museums, high fashion, and excellent gourmet cuisine on offer throughout the city.

Overnight Tel Aviv

DAY 6, SUNDAY - THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST

• Breakfast at our hotel.• This morning we check out of our hotel and drive north along Israel's scenic coastal plain.• Drive along the Mediterranean Coast to Caesarea, the ancient Roman capital of the area. Here we view the Roman Theater, the aqueduct, and ancient port as well as the impressive excavations of the Crusaders' city.• We continue to Megiddo, site of biblical Armageddon, whose 20 layers of civilization were featured in James Michener's The Source.• Our next stop is Daliat El Carmel, a Druze village, where we have the opportunity to learn about their unique culture.• Enjoy a late lunch at a local restaurant.• We stop atop Mt. Carmel in Haifa, where we take in the view of the sea, and the amazing terraced Bahai Gardens. • Continue into the Galilee.• Dinner at our kibbutz.

Overnight Kibbutz in the Galilee

DAY 7, MONDAY - SAFED AND THE GOLAN

• Breakfast at our hotel.• We tour the mystical city of Safed - center of Kabbalistic practice. Explore the narrow alleyways lined with ancient synagogues and artists' galleries.• Enjoy a jeep ride up to the Golan Heights, where we pass former Syrian bunkers and stop atop Har Bental for panoramic views stretching far into neighboring Syria. Our guide updates us on the geopolitical situation in the area.• We continue to Kuneitra, former Syrian administrative capital of the region and Katzrin, the Israeli administrative capital of the region.• We stop at the award winning Golan winery for a tour and tasting.• We then visit Kesem Hagolan to watch a spectacular multimedia presentation of the area and its history in the 180 degree IMAX movie theater.• Dinner at our kibbutz.

Overnight Kibbutz in the Galilee

DAY 8, TUESDAY - THE SEA OF GALILEE AND NAZARETH

• Breakfast at our hotel.• We begin our day with a visit to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, ** which some believe marks the site of Mary's childhood home and the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel.• We continue to Tiberias, one of four holy cities in Judaism, where we visit the grave of the medieval sage Maimonides.• We continue to Capernaum where Jesus began his ministry, and site of numerous miracles. We see the ruins of several synagogues and the octagonal Church of St. Peter.• Our next stop is the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.• Visit the extensive Roman ruins of Beit Shean, destroyed over 1,300 years ago by earthquake, and recently excavated and reconstructed on a massive and impressive scale.• Visit the intricate mosaics in the synagogue at Beit Alpha.

Overnight Jerusalem

DAY 9, WEDNESDAY - JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY

• Breakfast at our hotel.• We begin our day with an ascent up the Mount of Olives for a magnificent panoramic view of the City of Gold.• We continue to Mt. Zion, where we visit the tomb of King David and then proceed to the Upper Room, believed to be the site of the Last Supper. • We enter the walled Old City and walk through the newly restored Jewish quarter, including the Roman Cardo marketplace and the Herodian quarter excavations.• Enjoy a spiritual visit, and time for reflection at the Western Wall. • We walk the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.• We continue to Bethlehem** (security permitting) to view the tomb of Rachel, wife of biblical patriarch Jacob. • We visit the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square.Overnight Jerusalem

DAY 10, THURSDAY - NEW JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at our hotel.• We begin our day at the extensive galleries of the Israel Museum, which recently completed a $100 million renovation and is world class in every way. The galleries range from pop and modern art, through renaissance and classical, with a strong emphasis on Jewish and Israeli archeological history and evidence going back thousands of years. Walk through the iconic Shrine of the Book which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, and see the impressive scale replica, in miniature, of Jerusalem as it was during the second temple period. • We continue to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, where we take a tour and have time for a unique photo opportunity by the amazing outdoor bronze menorah sculpture, a gift given from England's parliament.• Visit Mt Herzl, Jerusalem's military cemetery, where we visit the gravesites of Theodore Herzl, Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin, and learn from our guide some of the heroic stories of those buried here.• We continue to Yad Vashem, the memorial to the 6 Million Jews murdered in the Holocaust - here we view the many moving exhibitions including the Hall of Names and the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations. • We continue to Mea Shearim, an Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem to learn about the unique lifestyle of the residents.• Tonight we enjoy a Middle Eastern dinner together, included. • Afterward, we enjoy a spectacular Sound and Light Show at the Tower of David (weather permitting).

Overnight Jerusalem

Day 11, Friday: MASADA AND THE DEAD SEA

• Breakfast at our hotel.• Early this morning we depart for the Dead Sea Basin.• Stop at Qumeran, site where Dead Sea scrolls were found. • Ascend to King Herod's fortresses and castle atop Masada, ascending by cable car. Visit the remains of the walls, palaces, synagogue, and the bathhouses, learning about the Jewish Zealots last stand against the Roman forces.• Enjoy lunch and an unsinkable swim in the healing salty waters of the Dead Sea.

Overnight Jerusalem

Day 12, Saturday: SHABBAT SHALOM

• Breakfast at our hotel - Enjoy a day at leisure to explore Jerusalem on own.

Overnight Jerusalem

Day 13, Sunday: DEPARTURE

• Breakfast at our hotel • Depart for Ben Gurion Airport for our flight back to the United States. L'hitraot!

THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!

*Itinerary subject to change**Visit subject to availability

The above program can be extended and customized for groups or private families.